Liam Ridgewell The Striker?

Villa are in real need of more width and something different in the box to complement Angel.

Earlier in the season Barry at full back, Luke Moore on the left and Gabby on the right provided three widish players but the right back position remains a problem. Certainly Mellberg is poor going forward and top teams need to start their football from the back.

Put Mellberg back in the middle with Cahill, put Barry back to left back, and magic a good right back from somewhere please in January (a fit Delaney would have been fine, but will he ever get back?).

Up front Sutton wins everything in the air but I really think Ridgewell deserves a go. Unlike most centre backs he has a striker's instinct and has scored a few 2 yard drives that our strikers rarely manage. He also heads the ball like a striker rather than a centre half's looping headers over the bar.

We are too light weight up front and give the ball away with too little momentum going forward.

Give him a try. It might not work, but it is worth a go. Angel and Baros don't work, but a big man with strength in the air and an eye for goal on the floor is what is needed. He just could be the solution??!!!

Article submitted by stennyvilla

Use your social login to comment on front page articles. Login using you Facebook, Twitter, Google or LinkedIn accounts and have your say!

bodybutter- how are we getting stuffed by average teams all of a sudden??! We were beaten by a team who played better on the night- I can't recall us getting "stuffed" by anyone other than Chelsea this season, so why the negativity?

England Captain, star striker and top scorer ...... Liam Ridgewell proudly leads the England team up the steps to collect the famous Jules Rimet Trophy and shows it to a watching audience of billions as they, thanks to Riddgers being the World Cups top scorer, lift the trophy for the first time since 1966. He lifts his shirt to show a vest on which is written ...... "Stennyvilla, it is all thanks to you".

I don't know if Ridge could provide a temporary answer but it's not without president. Anyone remember a former Villa Hero by the name of Dion Dublin? Started as a center-half, moved to striker where he was also capped for England and then finnished his career at center-half, showing great composure and a fantastic ability to read the game, especially having learned how a striker thinks. If Ridge and O'Neill are even concidering this then it should be now while he is still young enough to "learn new tricks" Personally I can't see it happening but I am open to all sensible suggestions.

My own preference would be for a new Peter Withe or Andy Gray, but they are not available - and neither is anyone else until January!
Beats one beats two is an easy put down , but I never remember Peter Withe beating anyone on the run My suggestion of give Ridgewell a try is as a big man who can head the ball up front and possibly feed off scraps too. Charlie Aitken was a full back and an unfair comparison - a more obvious comparison is another big man - for example the one and only Chris Sutton himself started as a centre half at Norwich.
Whatever the solution up front temporary or otherwise we also need more width width width.

Alan Evans 'Pyscho Evans la la la la la. He played at centre half but played up front at times. Remember being down a packed Villa against Liverpool where he scored 2 and we won 3-1. Ridgewell for forward wouldn't work. Part of the problem is being creative and getting the ball to them. He be starved just like Angel and Baros.

Cookie Policy
At Vital Football, we along with most other modern websites use small files called 'cookies' to create the most secure, effective and functional website possible for our users. Without these files our business model, based on advertising, breaks down and we would be unable to continue to provide the services that you are here to utilise. By continuing to use this website after seeing this message, you consent to our use of cookies on this device unless you have disabled them. For full details please read our Cookie Policy which can be found here. However, if you would like to disable cookies on this device, please view our Cookie Policy which contains an opt-out tool for disabling advertising cookies. Please also visit our information pages on 'How to manage cookies' if you would also like to block all other types of cookies. Please be aware that parts of this site will not function correctly if you disable cookies.